Jeremy Mincey's holdout came to an abrupt end this weekend when the defensive end met with Jason Garrett. Mincey got a nice $500,000 dollar raise but no extension. This shows a player in the last year of his contract being fearful of the Cowboy's suddenly bright defensive future. With Mincey out of camp, Randy Gregory got his snaps and Gregory is the future of one side of the Cowboy's defensive line and Demarcus Lawrence is the future of the other.
Mincey if signed to an extension may only find himself playing a backup role, adding quality depth while playmakers such as Hardy and Lawrence lead the charge. If Mincey hits the open market without an extension in place his value will only get smaller and the Cowboys will have to make the hard decision and move on.
A team friendly extension and a nice bump in salary (maybe half a million) should secure Mincey as a Cowboy for life. This should happen because he is needed for Cowboy's locker room culture. Last season he was the heart of this defense; in addition to having the most sacks (6) on the team. The Cowboys are looking for a lot more than 6 sacks this season and depending on how Greg Hardy plays a large extension could be in the works for him as well.
The Cowboys have become spoiled at defensive end but they need to remember that depth gets you through the season. If all goes according to plan by week 5 the Cowboys could have Gregory, Hardy, Mincey, and Lawrence all on the field at the same time, and that truly would be a scary defensive line.
